Harassment Lawsuit Puts Jay-Z's Cannabis Brand In The Eye Of The Storm

Jay-Z’s Monogram marijuana brand, which is produced by TPCO Holding Corp. (TPCO) GRAMF GRAM, is accused of illegally shipping cannabis products from California to New York. The lawsuit also makes claims of inaccurate financial reports and gender discrimination.

Filed by the former TPCO VP Cathi Clay, the lawsuit states that company executives "harassed and discriminated against her because of her gender and then retaliated after she filed a whistleblower report regarding financial inaccuracies and violations of state cannabis regulations," reported SF Gate. It also accuses TPCO executives of having been “aggressive, demeaning, and publicly questioned Ms. Clay’s abilities” and the company's CFO Mike Batesole “made many inappropriate comments about women, hiring ‘housewives’ to perform accounts payable, people of color and skill sets of employees.”

The plaintiff "was reprimanded after warning executives that filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in 2021 and 2022 were inaccurate." Furthermore, Monogram-branded weed products were illegally sent “to New York for a Monogram event with Shawn Carter," per MjBizDaily.

However, “the company does not comment on active litigation and plans to defend itself strongly against the false accusations," said a spokesman for California-based TPCO.

This news comes several months after TPCO entered into modification agreements to restructure the relationship between Roc Nation LLC, SC Branding, LLC, and The Parent Company. As part of the restructured arrangement, Shawn 'JAY-Z' Carter and affiliates and Roc Nation will return approximately 7.1 million common shares of The Parent Company and enable the organization to save approximately $33.5 million in top-line costs over an eight-year period.

The company and Gold Flora recently entered into a definitive business combination agreement to combine the companies in an all-stock merger.

Image Credits: JRByron, WilliamCho by Pixabay and edited by Benzinga.